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Josh Johnson (comedian)
American performer and writer (born 1990) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Josh Johnson (born March 6, 1990) is an American stand-up comedian and writer. He is best known for his work on The Daily Show, having first joined as a staff writer in 2017. Johnson became a correspondent in February 2024, and was later promoted to the weekly rotation of hosts in July 2025. His self-released frequent YouTube sets have been released over the 2020s. He was also previously a writer and performer on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He toured with Trevor Noah on his Loud & Clear tour for several years. In 2018, he was named New York's Funniest Stand Up at the New York Comedy Festival. He has released two hour-long comedy specials, # (Hashtag) (2021) and Up Here Killing Myself (2023).
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Early life
Johnson is from Alexandria, Louisiana. His mother was a special education teacher before having neurosurgery. After her surgery, she worked as a librarian at the same library Johnson visited after school.[2] His father worked as a teacher, and his parents are separated. He studied design[3] and received a degree in lighting design for theater from Centenary College in 2012.[4] While in college, he performed at open mic nights, inspired by Christopher Titus.[3] He lived in Chicago before moving to New York City.
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Career
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Johnson made his late-night debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he was also a writer and performer.[4] Since 2017, he has been a writer for The Daily Show,[4] where he made his debut as an on-air correspondent in 2024. His first half-hour special was released on Comedy Central in 2017.[5] His comedic story "Catfishing the KKK" has been viewed more than 13 million times on YouTube.[6]
In 2018, he appeared on the Netflix stand-up comedy series The Comedy Lineup.[7] At the New York Comedy Festival that year, he was named New York's Funniest Stand Up.[8] Beginning in 2019, Johnson toured with Trevor Noah on the Loud & Clear tour.[9][4]
Johnson's first hour-long stand-up special was # (Hashtag).[10] It was released in June 2021 on Comedy Central to a positive reception, including being named one of the best comedy specials of 2021 by Vulture magazine.[11][12] Variety named him one of 10 Comics to Watch.[3] Also that year, he took bits from his stand-up and interspersed music compositions in a 33-track mixtape album called Elusive, which he worked on with Mike Relm.[13][14] His second special, Up Here Killing Myself, was released in February 2023 on Peacock.[11]
Johnson voices Harry Buns on the Disney Channel series Kiff, which premiered in March 2023, his first acting role in a major scripted TV series.[15]
Since 2023,[16] Johnson has uploaded routines from his open mics and performances at the Comedy Cellar and his running tours every week at his personal YouTube channel.[17] Critics have praised Johnson's videos for their remarkable frequency, thematic consistency, and depth.[18][19] Starting July 22, 2025, Johnson was added to The Daily Show's rotation of hosts, alongside Jon Stewart, Desi Lydic, Michael Kosta, Ronny Chieng, and Jordan Klepper.[20]
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Discography
References
External links
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